Cited by 25Paleontology and Stratigraphy of FossilsGeological and Geochemical AnalysisGeochemistry and Elemental Analysis

Breaking the Boring Billion: A Case for Solid‐Earth Processes as Drivers of System‐Scale Environmental Variability During the Mid‐Proterozoic

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Diamond, Charles W., Ernst, Richard E., Zhang, Shuan‐Hong, Lyons, Timothy W.·2021·Geophysical Monograph Series

Abstract

Emplacement and weathering of large igneous provinces (LIPs) can have dramatic effects on global climate and biogeochemical systems. In the Phanerozoic, these events are often linked to expanding oceanic anoxia, widespread deposition of organic-rich shales, and metazoan extinctions. In the Precambrian, LIP activity would have had similar potential to perturb global systems, though the outcome may have differed given different starting conditions. Specifically, against a backdrop of mostly low oxygen conditions, Precambrian LIP emplacement may have stimulated oxygenation of the atmosphere and shallow oceans, which could have favored innovations among eukaryotic life. Here, we review the records of several oceanic-atmosphere redox proxies, summarize their utility, and compare them with the record of continental LIPs. While the mid-Proterozoic (1.8–0.8 Ga) is famous for long-term environmental stability, several independent proxies suggest the possibility that conditions were transiently more oxygenated at ~1.4 Ga. This time coincides roughly with a period of increased LIP activity that has been recently linked with widespread deposition of black shales. We explore the possibility that LIP-induced impacts on productivity might have favored organic matter burial, transient oxygenation, and potential advantages for aerobic life, focusing in particular on the feedbacks that maintained environmental balance for nearly a billion years. Our understanding of the evolution of Proterozoic environmental conditions is still nascent, but as records improve and we search for mechanisms that underpinned long-term stability or drove secular change, it is critical that the whole Earth system be considered.

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Crossref · 10.1002/9781119507444.ch21

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  • Oxygenation events during the boring billion could be related to activity in large igneous provinces and concomitant enhanced delivery of nutrients (P and trace metals) to the oceans.

    “This and other possible oxygenation events could be more specifically related to activity in LIPs and concomitant enhanced delivery of nutrients to the oceans (P and trace metals in particular; Diamond et al., 2021).”

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Authors
Diamond, C. W., Ernst, R. E., Zhang, S., & Lyons, T. W.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Riverside (US)
  • National Research Tomsk State University (RU)
  • Ministry of Natural Resources (CN)
Venue
Geophysical Monograph Series
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2021-01-08
Pages
487-501
ISSN
  • 0065-8448 (ISSN-L)
  • 2328-8779
OpenAlex
W3119126117
Cited by
25
References
119
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1
Type
other
Language
en
Open access
Locations
Geophysical monograph (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › Geological and Geochemical Analysis
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
Keywords
large igneous provinces, Precambrian, Proterozoic, atmospheric oxygenation, ocean redox, black shales, ocean anoxia, continental flood basalts, organic matter burial, eukaryotic evolution, environmental stability, redox proxies

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